historicafandomcom-20200222-history
Hanoverian War
The Hanoverian War (1703-), also called the Suedo-Dutch War, was a military conflict fought between Sweden and an alliance of Hanover, the United Provinces, Prussia, and Westphalia. The cause of the war was the Swedish invasion of Hanover, an ally of the Dutch, Prussians, and Westphalians. However, Hanover and Westphalia played little to no role in the war, as they were land-based and without a navy; it was mainly a naval contest between the Dutch, Prussians, and Swedes. The Swedish Navy proved its formidability in crushing the Dutch squadron of Jordaan Grotius in the Battle of Rostock in 1704, although it cost them their skilled admiral Emanuel Jonassen. With two admirals dead and both sides having lost quite a few sailors, Sweden made peace with the Netherlands and focused on the war with the remaining allies. Background Sweden and the United Provinces had been at war before in the 1670s during the Scanian War, during which Sweden allied with France in their invasion of the Low Countries. The Dutch had proved their naval might in the Battle of Oland in 1676, thanks to the ingenuity of their admiral Cornelis Tromp, but in the years following the war, they condoned Sweden's military growth. By 1700, Sweden had a vast army of mercenaries and a powerful navy, and they were ready to take warfare to Europe again. In 1703, Sweden declared war on the weak Protestant German electorate of Hanover in the north of Germany. The move was risky, because Hanover was allies with Europe's two strongest naval powers: the British and the Dutch. Not willing to fight the Swedes in addition to the French and Spanish, the British backed out on their alliance with the Hanoverians. Unaware of this betrayal, the Dutch confidently joined in the war as an ally of Hanover. In addition, the powerful German state of Prussia and the small state of Westphalia joined the alliance. Prussia and the United Provinces knew that they would be on the front lines; the Hanoverians had no navy or real army and the Westphalians were landlocked. The two major allies both had seaports and armies, both of which had been tested fairly recently. However, since the Dutch and Prussians were not allied with each other, they could not reinforce each other in battle. War The Dutch had been brewing up a fleet in Rotterdam ever since 1700, when they were arming for war with the Spanish during the War of the Spanish Succession. Recent naval victories at Le Havre and Vigo Bay had encouraged the Dutch to declare war on Sweden, to prove their mastery of the North Seas naval contest. Admiral Jordaan Grotius' Dutch fleet of 10 ships (mainly sloops) sailed to the North Sea in the winter of 1703, confident that they could forever destroy Sweden's naval power. However, Admiral Emanuel Jonassen had constructed an 11-ship fleet of several types of warships, mainly frigates that could tear the Dutch ships to driftwood. Grotius was amazed by the size of the fleet and in the summer of 1704 he weighed anchor near the Prussian port of Rostock. However, the Dutch and Prussians were not allies, and were instead mutual friends against the Swedish (Prussia was at war with the Austrian Empire, Dutch allies). The Prussian navy in Rostock did not come to the aid of the Dutch, and the Dutch were cornered against the numerically-superior Swedish navy. The Swedish navy of Jonassen deployed in a long line, and headed towards the Dutch. The Dutch fleet dispatched their main force to concentrate on the Swedish flagship "Charlotte", a 48-gun 5th Rate frigate. Meanwhile, three Dutch ships were sent around the rear of the Swedish navy to surprise them. The Dutch main squadron succeeded in attacking the Swedish capital ships, and Jonassen was killed. However, the other squadron was held back by winds and could not assist the others; the outnumbered Dutch were defeated and Grotius was killed. In the end, the Dutch fleet was obliterated, with 3 ships captured by the Swedes, who lost two. The few remaining Dutch ships were cornered against Jutland and wiped out, destroying the Dutch North Sea Fleet. Shortly after, the Dutch paid 2,600 gulden to make peace with Sweden, as they backed out of the contest. Category:Wars